36 Days Left...

According to my widget counter it's 36 days until Chicago!!

I've been on the road this week, and trying to put out forest fires in my office so my son and I can leave town tomorrow to visit my newlywed daughter/husband (married a year in October) in NYC. We'll fly back in on Tuesday if the airline gods keep their promise.

I'll miss seeing ya'll tomorrow, and being in the Marathon pack. It's become quite a habit.

Have a great run. Be safe. Don't play in the traffic. Watch out for alligators. Remember, if you hear one coming up behind you there's only one thing to do -- RUN FASTER.

Debra

Starting Slow Works -- At Least this Time

Everyone did a great job on Saturday!

I put the "start slowly as a warm up" advice to the test for my 20 miles. I started at a brisk walk with Jody and Sally, and we picked Suz up as we crossed the Causeway (well, she started walking with us -- we didn't actually carry her on our shoulders).

I didn't start running "Debra Intervals" until I got on the trail headed to Fox Bay. That was more than an hour of walking before running. I ran 2:2 intervals for a bit with Ann and Merrel, and then went back to my own thing along the way. Amazingly enough, I still felt pretty good on the Scenic Drive portion though my walking intervals were more frequent than running. I managed to finish the course in 5 hours, which certainly isn't a fast pace, but my Saturday goal was really to see if I could stay on my feet for 5 hours.

I felt plenty tired a few hours later and slept 5 hours on Saturday afternoon and was again ready to sleep that night. Suz and I rode bikes for a few miles on Sunday. We have found that it's a great help for those stiff knees, and is a really fun way to get in some cross training.

So, it's Monday morning and I cannot believe we did 20 miles over the weekend. Amazing! The slow starts appear to have helped me survive and finish the mileage, plus I feel sure it also improved my recovery time -- at least this time.

Debra
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Got me going...

Those Fast Delta Girls -- Supa Carol and Movin Sally got me going at 6 a.m. today, or maybe I should say they tried. I don't know if it was the thick humidity, or the list of things going on in my head, but I just couldn't make the 2:1 pace work. I managed an hour walking and called it a day.

I know this sounds strange, but I really kind of like our long runs starting in the dark. There's something almost meditative when I shut everything out but that piece of ground in front of me. Yeah, I know Chicago won't be dark but based on what the MM veterans say there will be plenty of street entertainment to keep me occupied.

Speaking of dark -- the 5 a.m. longrun will be here before we know it. Think I'll carry an extra set of batteries. Sunrise is 6:28 a.m. Based on Mark's 5 hour plan that's still a lot of sunshine coming our way. Maybe a cool front will have moved in by then.

Best of luck to everyone on Saturday.
And, Supa Carol, don't get too excited and try to work in some run time when you go down the aisle as the MOG (mother of the groom). Those fancy dresses don't have enough Race Ready pockets to carry your gels anyway. However, you might consider accessorizing with the Garmin. It could come in handy: "I'm sorry, my Garmin has a Bore Alarm, and it's telling me that it's time to move on."

Debra

Made it to Clinton.

Thanks to Supa Carol, I made it to Clinton. Something woke me up at 2:30 a.m. instead of 3:30 a.m. so I was sort of in la-la land. It didn't help that a policeman circled me a couple of times at the Walgreen's meeting spot at 4:15 a.m. He finally came over and I explained that I was waiting to get a ride to go to Clinton to run. (yeah, sounds pretty lame to rational people). Then he told me my car tag was 6 months expired. I guess I was too pitiful to bother with at that point. He just shook his head and drove away.

My Clinton time wasn't so bad but I sure am glad I had my headlight on. That subdivision run is a scary thing in the dark. Luckily, the person in front of me knew where she was going.


Debra

Sleep Helps on all Levels

I've been reading that getting enough sleep is as much an asset to preparing for the marathon as getting practice time in. I'm finally giving that a try in these last weeks of preparation.

I'm usually awake by 5 a.m. and by 5:30 a.m. I'm either in front of the computer, hitting the road for a photo shoot, or meeting other marathoners to get in that hour of time on the trail.
CarolK (or Super Carol as I mentally call her) and I did a 6 a.m. jaunt yesterday morning, and this morning I slept in until 6 a.m. That may not seem like alot but it's amazing how 30 minutes or an hour more of sleep can help throughout the day. Tomorrow I should be ready for an hour practice at 5:30 a.m. at Lakeshore with Suzanne, Carol, Sally, Jody and anyone else who is up for it. At least at 5:30 maybe we won't need our headlights.

I've also learned that I'm in a better mood with more sleep. Imagine that... My husband and son are appreciative, and so are the 3 dogs: Poobear, Sam and Pumpkin. Charlie the Cat doesn't notice unless I forget to feed him.

Debra
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Weird Lights in the Night

I bought a headlight to wear tomorrow morning. Well, I bought two actually. I realized that Suzanne probably needed her very own since we BOTH got Jody on the wrong track last week in the dark. But, that's another story...

The music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind keeps rolling in my head. Somehow the idea of all those marathoners out there with lights bobbing around in the dark reminded my of the space ship landing and that tonal music playing....Could be we'll be mistaken for aliens. This marathon thing sure was an alien idea back in January.

See ya in the dark.

Debra

Busy Week Trying Not to Melt

It's been a busy week on the road in the Miss. Delta, Arkansas and Louisiana. The heat requires me to be on location by 7 a.m. so I can photograph my subjects before they start melting. I used to describe my work as "shooting farmers" until one of my daughter's friends heard me and got this stricken look on her face. So now I try to be politically correct when I talk about my work: I am making environmental portraits of individuals in the rural countryside for editorial projects.
I am from the Delta and do have rather a redneck. Who could blame the kid for thinking I was carrying a gun instead of a camera?

I didn't blog after the 18 miler. I wanted to give myself a few days to see if I was actually going to survive, and also hit the road on Monday. I didn't have the bad blisters on my feet, but my legs were covered in this yucky red diaper rash stuff until yesterday. Nothing seemed to make it better except time.

Yesterday as I was driving back from Rayville, La. I decided to pull over at the Vicksburg Outlet Mall. It was too early for the mall to open but the outside walking area is completed covered. The whole strip is L-shaped and faces west, so it's shaded in the morning. I walked up and down the area for at least 30 minutes several times, and their public bathroom was even open. It was great training, and the added bonus was I didn't find a thing that I needed to buy.

This morning Suzanne and I met in the dark at 5 a.m. We took a brisk hour walk, and discussed the need for a light source on Saturday, especially when we enter the wooded trail.

See ya there!

Debra

Warning: You May Laugh Out Loud.

We are all worn out with the heat and the prospects of Saturday + August humidity = Kinda Scary. What's a girl to do? Look for something to laugh about, of course!
In a desperate attempt to at least read about marathoning (sort of but not quite the same as training outside) I sat down with a copy of Runner's magazine that Suz passed on to me.

Now, LISTEN up! I found the event for you! You can't do it this year because it's October 6, but next year I can definitely see Chuck, Kelvin, Phil, Floyd, Mark and Clark and you other guys entering this event.
On October 6, Bethel, Maine, hosts the North American Wife Carrying Championship!!! It's a Scandanavian tradition. A man carries his wife or other random female, 278 yards over log hurdles and thru mud pits. (You should be laughing by now.) The Winner, and this is big, gets his wife's weight in BEER! Believe it or not. Check it out. There's a UTube Video, and according to the website they also WILL let the female carry the male.

http://www.sundayriver.com/summer/wifecarry.html

Told you it was a Laugh Out Loud.

See ya Saturday!

Debra